Tyler Morrill

Sports editor

The men’s golf team finds itself leading the pack with two first-place tournament finishes, while the women’s team achieved individual success and two respectable finishes of second and third place.

Both teams competed in a pair of Northwest Conference tournaments, the Pacific Invitational in North Plains, Ore., and the Puget Sound Invitational in Tacoma, Wash., on March 9 and 10.

At the Pacific Invitational, the men’s team earned its second first-place finish of the spring, while the women’s team finished third competing against five other schools.

On March 7 at the Puget Sound Invitational, the men’s team bested the other three competitors to win the event. The women’s team had an impressive showing, earning the second-place finish behind the University of Puget Sound.

The Willamette Invitational is on deck for both teams. The men’s tournament will be March 17 at Creekside Golf Club in Salem.

The women’s competition will be a two-day event March 15 and 16 in Woodburn, Ore.

The men’s team continued its strong year with its overwhelming play in its last two invitationals.

Linfield set the pace in the seven-team tournament at Pacific University with a first-place finish of 593.

That mark gave the ’Cats a comfortable 12-stroke lead over Central Oregon Community College, in second  place with 605. Linfield showed the distance between it and the rest of the NWC as Pacific, on its own course, was as close as any NWC team could get, 23 strokes behind.

“We have a really deep team,” sophomore Joel Rychard said. “All our guys can shoot in the 70s. Not a lot of schools can do that. That’s what separates us.”

Rychard was the most impressive golfer on the course, finishing first overall with individual scores of 70 in the first round and 74 in the second.

Rychard’s score of 70 was two under par and helped set the tone for the next day. Rychard had seven birdies total in the tournament. Three other ’Cats were in top spots with three teammates finishing only six strokes behind Rychard.

The win gave Rychard his first as a collegian. Although he came out with the victory, his final hole made the tournament more interesting.

He struggled to find the pin and scored a quadruple bogey, putting himself only one shot ahead of the next finisher.

“I knew I had a big lead going into that hole,” Rychard said. “I may have just been thinking about the score too much and not finishing. I had a few mental errors. Luckily I won, but I made it pretty tense.”

Linfield had two other finishers in the top five on the second day. Sophomore Tyler Nelson finished in a tie for third, and senior Kyle Henderson finished in a tie for fifth.

Nelson led the way for the ’Cats at the Puget Sound Invitational, scoring a team-high 153 to earn fifth place.

Although Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran University both had two top-five finishers, the ’Cats were able to edge out the Loggers by three strokes with a team score of 612.

Having a talented team gives the ’Cats a relaxing confidence. They don’t have to play their best game to win a match.

“You don’t have to worry about how the other guys are doing, and you don’t have to feel pressured to shoot low all the time,” Rychard said.

The women’s team had a strong individual showing at the Pacific Invitational as well, with three teammates in the top 14, including freshmen Brynn Hurdus and Katie Kilborn with a score of 736.

The ’Cats earned third place. The team was chasing George Fox University for the second spot, but was outdone by just five strokes.

Hurdus tied for first with George Fox’s Brittany Zefkeles. The two were pushing each other in both rounds, finishing with scores of 170. Hurdus fought back in the second round to tie Zefkeles with a tournament low of 79.

At the Puget Sound Invitational the ’Cats had another good showing with a second-place finish behind the Loggers.

Hurdus led the ’Cats with a fourth-place finish, scoring a 91. Senior Shawnie Dakan had her best day of the spring so far with a 96, which was good enough for 10th overall. Kilborn was right behind Dakan in 11th place to help Linfield’s score.